Seattle homeowner forced to live in camper van after ‘tenant occupies house’ and lists on Airbnb

A homeowner named Jason Roth who lives in Seattle, is having to deal with a errant tenant who has occupied his house and listed it on Airbnb. Roth has filed a case but the eviction hearing is taking time due to court backlog.

Roth had bought the house in 2016. His ordeal with the current tenant started when he rented his entire house to earn extra money for pilot school. Notably, Roth works as an aircraft mechanic's apprentice. After renting his own house, Roth moved into a small apartment but the tenant hasn't paid rent amounting to $33,400 plus utilities and late fees.

"I feel like I'm just constantly getting robbed, like every day. This is my worst nightmare," Roth told Fox News.

He shared how earlier he used to rent the rooms in his house at affordable prices.

"It was always affordable rooms available. It was always a positive experience," shared Roth.

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Amid his precarious situation, Roth is living in his van in a bid to cut costs while mortgage payments and utility bills are rising. Roth shared that his tenant put his home's basement living space on Airbnb for nearly $150 a night using a city-approved rental license.

"So, not only is he not paying me, but he’s generating an income through the basement Airbnb unit, and meanwhile, I’m having to pay the utilities for that unit," Roth told KIRO 7 News.

Although Airbnb has removed the listing after it was found that the short-term license obtained by the tenant, was invalid as it was obtained through inaccurate information about ownership of the property.

Negotiations with the tenant

Roth revealed that he has tried to negotiate with the tenant about the payments and come at a resolution of the existing situation but to no avail.

"I’m sick of sleeping in my van and on couches. I just want to be back in my house. There’s so many things in place for the city to get people housing in the winter, but I am a homeowner who’s not going to have that," Roth told KIRO 7 News.

"I've been reached out to by plenty of people who have units available who are afraid to rent them. This environment is not conducive to people opening up their doors for people to rent their places to live," shared Roth.

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